Bone Marrow Biopsy Day

Today Morgan had his second bone marrow biopsy. The first one was done on November 18th – the day after he found out he had cancer. The purpose of today’s biopsy is to determine how far the cancer has receded. The hope is to avoid damaging Morgan’s immune system with chemotherapy any more than is necessary. The relatively good recent blood tests suggest the cancer may be beaten back enough that it may be possible for Morgan to be relatively symptom free for awhile without treatment. Morgan is trying very hard not to get his hopes up too much, but I am hopeful enough for the both of us.

He did very well with the first biopsy, so I didn’t expect him to be very nervous. But he was. He explained that he didn’t really remember much from the first procedure because at the time he was feeling so weak and light-headed. So he felt almost like today he was having it done for the first time.

Today during the procedure, at its worst, Morgan rated his pain a 4 out of 10. So it was not excruciating. He compared it with stepping on a nail and pulling it out quickly – a quick sharp pain. And it was all over in about 20 minutes including numbing and bandaging.

Ahhh. It's over.

We expect to have the results at our regular appointment with the doctor next Tuesday. That’s the same day Morgan’s next cycle of chemo is scheduled to begin. So, if the news is good Morgan he won’t have to do that cycle and he will have already had his last chemo treatment for a while.

If not, Morgan will keep his scheduled chemo appointment and start the first of two more three-day cycles finishing this round of chemo in the last week of April before getting a break. If that is the case, I know Morgan will continue to fight with the same strength, courage and grace he’s shown throughout this battle.

Typical Chemo Day

Today’s the beginning of another chemo week so I thought I’d outline the process so people who don’t know what it’s like can see what Morgan goes through on a typical chemo day.

8:00 – We arrive at the Cancer Center. Strangely, it’s like being a regular at your favorite bar. Everyone knows you and your recent life story – they’ve lived it with you for the past several months.

8:15 – Time for lab work. Morgan is happy because Heather, our favorite lab tech, is working today! She does a great job and always starts the day off with fun and good cheer.

8:45 – Now we see Dr. Logie to discuss how things are going and get the blood count results. Hemoglobin is over 15 – fantastic! Platelets are nearing normal – good. But the white count is again somewhat low (this is called neutropenia) so Morgan will need treatment for this on Friday. Considering the numbers we’ve seen in the past this is not too bad at all.

Typical treatment for CLL is 4-6 cycles per round of chemo. This is Morgan’s 4th cycle. Dr. Logie is concerned about damage the chemo is doing to Morgan’s white cells and wants to do another bone marrow biopsy to determine if he should proceed with additional cycles. He guaranteed us that the results would show residual disease in Morgan’s marrow – the cancer is not gone or cured. But if it is minimal he can stop the chemo for now. If not, Morgan will continue chemo for two more cycles. Then we wait and see what happens after the chemo is stopped. Hopefully the cancer will grow very slowly and not need to be treated again for a long time. And with any luck the autoimmune hemolysis will not return which Dr. Logie seems more optimistic about than he did during our last visit.

9:10 – Now we move on to nursing, where chemo is done. It’s a big room with 14 chemo chairs set up in a big u-shape. Morgan takes his regular chair across from the windows and next to Mohammed. Mohammed is the only other patient here so far. I think he’d pretty sick. He’s been here every day that we’ve been here and today he’s not looking so good. Because things aren’t busy yet Anna, one of our regular nurses, is able to get Morgan’s IV started pretty quickly.

9:25 – Pretreatment for the Rituxan begins – Tylenol and IV Benadryl. This usually takes about 15 minutes.

9:40 – Rituxan drip is started and will take about 2 hours. By this point things are starting to pick up – 5 more people are now in nursing, including a nervous young breast cancer patient getting her second treatment and some other regulars we recognize but don’t know by name. I wonder where Mac is today. We usually see him on Tuesdays. Hope that means things are going well for him.

9:45 – Morgan’s fast asleep with his pillow and blanket. He’ll sleep for about 2 hours. Normally this is when I would duck out for a run/walk. But today it’s too cold (25 degrees and windy). I think I’ll stay in and try to get some work done.

10:45 – Morgan’s still sound asleep. He’ll be glad to know he’s not snoring. Funny that this is one of his biggest concerns on a long day of chemo.

11:45 – Rituxan is complete so pretreatment for the Fludara and Cytoxan begins with a 15 minute drip of Decadron (a steroid) that is followed by an anti-nausea injection.

11:46 – Now that he’s had a good rest Morgan is starting to get hungry so I head out to get him some lunch and some yogurt that the doctor suggested to help with the digestive issues that come as a result of the chemo. Morgan entertains himself with his Kindle until I get back.

12:00 – While I’m gone the Cytoxan is started. This usually takes about an hour and a half.

1:00 – Well-rested and fed, Morgan is really starting to get bored now. The steroids keep him from sleeping and his brain is foggy. We chat about random things – anything to keep him somewhat entertained and distracted. Luckily there’s a lot of activity with people coming and going. We comment on who’s looking better…and who’s looking worse. No one ever stays the same here – they either get better or they get worse. We feel very blessed that Morgan is finally one of the ones who’s getting better. But our hearts break for those who are getting worse.

1:30 – Cytoxan is finished and it’s time for a reduced dose of Fludara. The hope is that the reduced dose won’t be so hard on his white cells. Today this should take about 30 minutes.

2:00 – Fludara is done. Yay – All that’s left now is a 15 minute IV flush and we’re out of here!

2:15 – Oops…I forgot, we have to schedule the next 7 appointments including the bone marrow biopsy. Luckily they are very efficient at this and it only takes a few more minutes.

By 2:30 we are at home and Morgan is ready for another nap. He’ll wake up in time for dinner and just relax for the rest of the day. Then tomorrow and Thursday we’ll head back to the cancer center at 8AM for more chemo. Luckily they are shorter days because he only gets Fludara and Cytoxan, but it is still exhausting for Morgan. Then on Friday afternoon Morgan will head back to the cancer center for the injection to treat his neutropenia. After that he’ll spend the weekend resting and trying to recover.

New Shoes!!

I finally decided that I’d made enough progress to be worthy of some new running shoes.   So I headed to the Blue Mile where they examine your stride and determine what type of shoes work best for your running style. 

Two minutes on the treadmill and they had it all figured out.  I needed a light stability shoe because I have a slight pronation (turning in at the ankle) in my stride. 

There was a small selection for my child size foot but they were able to find a few pair for me to try on.  Here’s what I chose: a light weight, light stability shoe with a low profile and hideous purple zebra stripes. They are quite ugly, but they feel great on my feet!

Leukemia in the news…

The good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good:

Nano-robots showing signs of hope in early lab trials – http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46417931/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Leukemia patient gets a second chance – http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cancer-stricken-philadelphia-woman-chance-life-half-match/story?id=15598824

A resolution to the Methotrexate shortage – http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2012/02/16/sebelius-says-leukemia-drug-shortage-will-be-resolved-within-two-weeks/

The Bad:

Six year old in search of a bone marrow donor – http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/bone-marrow-donors-sought-6-year-old-son-york-city-firefighter-stricken-leukemia-article-1.1023775

The Ugly:

Some lots of Fludara (A chemo drug Morgan is currently being treated with) are being recalled – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204880404577225573215283462.html

It’s Official!!!

My Team In Training donation page has been updated to reflect my increased personal fundraising goal of $5000!! 

Wish me luck!  Or better yet, make a donation:)

2 Miles

2 miles!!!!  How ya like me now, high school gym teacher?

Fundraising – New Challenges!

The generosity of my family and friends is overwhelming!  Thanks to you I’ve raised almost double my initial fundraising goal for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.   Morgan and I are truly blessed to know all of you.  And we can’t thank you enough for your contribution. 

In support of LLS and their  continued efforts to find a cure and provide assistance to blood cancer patients and their families, I’m increasing my personal fundraising goal to $5000!  So, if you haven’t already done so please go to my fundraising page  and consider making a contribution and helping save lives.

And if it’s in your heart to contribute, but not your wallet, please consider donating blood to the local blood bank.  One unit of blood could save up to 3 lives!  Get out there an be a hero!

Training Update – One Mile Down!!

I’ve never run a mile in my life…until yesterday.  I ran a mile and a half without stopping!!!  WHOO HOOO!!! Okay, it was really more like a slow jog, but I did it.  So that’s one down, only 12 to go!

About Morgan’s Cancer

Morgan has Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) which is the most common form of Leukemia in adults.  With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia cancerous white blood cells called lymphocytes build up in the blood, bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes.  When these cells overtake more than 70% of the bone space they start to interfere with the production of red blood cells and platelets.  When Morgan was diagnosed his cancerous white cells had overtaken 90% of the bone space and production of red blood cells was dramatically decreased. 

Luckily for Morgan the cancer didn’t appear to have spread to his lymph nodes or spleen.

But to make matters much worse, he had somehow contracted Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia, which means that his body was attacking his own red blood cells which were already at compromised levels.  That is why Morgan went from feeling fine to being unable to even walk more than a few steps within about 2 weeks.  

This is what caused Morgan to need emergency treatment which is atypical with CLL.  He went from his first visit with the oncologist directly to the hospital and was admitted to the progressive care unit the following day. This kicked off a month of intensive treatment.  Here are some stats to give you an idea what he faced:

• He spent 5 days at the hospital and 19 days at the cancer center
• He received 4 blood transfusions and 8 units of blood
• He took thousands of milligrams of prednisone
• He suffered 4 days with fever over 103 (including a few in Kentucky over Thanksgiving) and several more with a fever over 102
• He spent the majority of 4 days receiving IV antibiotics
• He tolerated 3 days of chemotherapy treatments
• He survived several days with severe neutropenia (seriously low white blood cells count)  and was unable to go anywhere except the cancer center

That all in just the first 30 days.  The next 30 days included more chemo, 2 weeks of severe hives, 10 pounds of water retention, more fever and several days with severe stomach upset and fatigue.

He’s been fighting with amazing strength and courage.  And now is hopefully on the road to recovery!

The CLL prognosis is good at this point.  Morgan is responding to the treatment and the cancer is receding.  However, he may never be completely cancer free.  But should be symptom free and able to go without treatment for some time.

The Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia is stopped for the moment.  No one is saying cured (no matter how many times I ask) because they just don’t know.  He may need some for a treatment for the rest of his life to keep this under control.  Or it may just be gone.  Only time off of treatment will tell.  And we welcome that time to find out.

Fundraising goal achieved!

I can’t believe this!  Less than a week after posting a link to my donation page I’ve already exceeded my fundraising goal by $250!  

Just goes to show what I already knew – I have the most generous, supportive and caring family and friends!!!  A HUGE thanks goes out to all who have donated.  Your generosity is truly appreciated! 

With another 87 days left until the event and thousands of people still suffering from blood cancers, I’ve decided to increase my fundraising goal by another thousand dollars!